Guest Blog Entry By Bwana
Sunday’s goal was getting the engine and transmission assembly shoe horned into the frame and mounted.




The Building of a Factory Five Roadster
By Bwana
Hey Everyone,
I came up from Asheville for a long weekend to work with Boyd on The Boss. We spent two days of full-on work. Saturday was spent assembling the transmission to the engine and all that that entails.
A healthy flywheel mounts to the end of the engine crankshaft, then there’s a clutch, pressure plate, bell housing, assorted clutch actuators, then the transmission.
One item held us up significantly: three small pins that align the pressure plate to the flywheel. We did not have these and could not go any further without them. Luckily, we found them at a local Ford dealer. We had to wait several hours, but the dealer came through and we got back to work.
Today, the actual Factory Five arrives…. Yeah, I’m excited. And I just about went bouncing through the yard when this rig backed up to my house…
Then he opened the rear doors and there she is… “Boss 427”
With the help of the driver and my friend Chip (Mustang Man Extraordinaire), we got it unloaded and into the garage. We also moved the 20-something boxes of parts into my sunroom.
So I’ve got the rear axle… and I’ve got the brakes… time to put something together!
Started by assembling the front brake hats to the rotors. Torqued with loktite and installed safety cables. This is a new, more reliable version of safety wire used on aircraft.
Assembled the rear brakes on the rear axle. Pretty easy stuff with no issues, except I need some thicker washers to center the calipers. Then test fitted one rear wheel to make sure there was no interference. Looks good!!
A UPS Freight tractor trailer came out of nowhere in front of my house. He backed right up to my driveway and said he had a crate for me that weighed 300 lbs! He helped me get it up to the garage and then went his way. My neighbors are going to start wondering with these tractors coming and going…
Moser 8.8 3-link rear axle assembly. Built with all new parts, heavy duty axles and 3.55:1 gearing. Made just for F5 and ready to take some torque!
I’ve been ordering additional parts that I’ll need to assemble the car or as upgrades. Tools, American Racing wheels , Howe balljoints, all kinds of stuff. I’ll be ordering more and more as time goes along.
American Racing Torq Thrust M wheels, 17×9 front, 17×10.5 rear.
The brakes are from Wilwood and are options from F5. I ordered these along with the car, they just showed up early.